Toothpick



July 26, i949, G. E. MILLARD 2,477,94

I TOOTHPICK Filed Aug. v 3, 1945 1 MAMNANZIMNANANANANZINANMNNA Aj l: `j0

7/ 16/ 'di $3 l I Y' 53 Patented July 26, Y1949 TENT orrrcn 'i TOTHPICK:Glen E. Millard', St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Lactona Incorporated,St. Paul, Minn., a corpora,

tion of Minnesota V.Agpplicatiun August 3, 1945, Serial No. 608,110

claims. (o1. 132-93) My invention relates to an impr,o velnent intoothniclrs and deals more particularly with a series, oi toothpiclrsintegrallyv attache,d to` a common base.

ToQthpicks-,- when properly designed and correctly used, are oiconsiderable assistance in properly caring for the. teeth. In order toYbe of most service, however, the toothpick must be properly shaped.Itis. also important to form the tootlapcks. Qf. a. material, bestsuited for the purpose.` If the. toothpiclrs are, too. hard or stiffthey are likely to injure the surface, of theI teeth. On the other hand.ii the: tuutlipicks4 are too soft they do not produce, the properresults.

It is an object ci the present invention to form a seriesl Qt toothpioksof molded plastic and attached to a common base. The tonthpicks may beindividually detached from the base when desired for use.. As a resultthe toothp-iclrs may be readily carried about without danger of losinsthe, toothpicks.

. A feature o f the present invention resides in molding the toothpiks'fromV a plastic to form a somewhat resilientl bQdy. The material formingthe toothpieks is not extremely hard, nor is it extremely soft. The,tonthpicks will bend and flex rcadi-ly'withon-t breakingv and. willreturn to their normal shape after ilexure. By properly regulating thehardnesssl of the body of the toothpicks an instrument may be producedwhich may be used to prevent the building up oi deposit about the baseof each tooth, as well as to remove foreign matter from between theteeth. The, body of the toothpicks is suiciently soft to serve admirablyas a massaging element. to message the l gum tissue at the base of theYteeth.

It is. a feature of the present invention t0. produce toothpicks havinga relatively heavy section at one end which may serve yas a handle endfor the toothpick. The other end of each toothpick is tapered to a finepoint and is substantially triangular in cross section to enter theinterdental spaces which are also usually substantially triangular.

A. furtherfeature of the present invention lies in the manner ofattaching the individual toothpicks to the common base. The handle endof each toothpick tapers to a relatively narrow line of connectionbetween the sides of each toothpick. In removing each toothpicl: thehandle end thereof is swung down toward the base. The tapering lower endof each toothpick may act as a fulcrum to assist in separating thetoothpick from the base.

These and other objects and novel features of fulcrum point against thebase II.

2; Y my inventionA will be more clearly` and fully set forth in thefollowing specification and claims.

In the drawings forming@ part of specilication:

Figure 1 is a top planviewofA a series of toothpicks attached to acommon hase.

Figure 2 is a iront elevational View of the toothpicks shown in Figure1;.

Figure 3 is a rear elevational View of the toothpiclrs shown in Figures1 and 3.

Figure 4 is an end elevational viewv or the. toot-hpicks and base.

The series of toothpicks on their integral base are designated ingeneral by the letter A. The individual toothpiclgs l0 are shown securedat their handle end to a base, H in a manner which will be described inmore detail. fEhe base II provides a means of supporting the toothpicksin vertical position as shown in 'Figures 2, 3, and l of the drawings,when it is desired.. The base Il includes an enlargedbottorn plate I2and an upstanding web I3 on the bottom Plate. The web I3 is grooved onits front end and rear surface, the rear groove being indicated by thenum1 eral ld and the front groove being indicated by the numeral I5. Thefront groove, I'Fi may contain a name. such as I8.. termed. ci' lettersstandine out in relier; troni the erccved portion of the web I3. The topof the web I3 is tapered inwardly at I6 and terminates in a. dat uppersurface .l l. The toothplcks Ill are integral with the flat uppersurface Il..

nach of the tootnniclrs Ilill includes a handle portion I9 which issubstantially rectangular in cross section and forms relatively rigidhandle body. This, handle bedr .|53 tapers inwardly from opposite sidesof each toqtlllpigl: 9 aS to form a substantially triangular bottom endon each toothnick, The toothpiclss are secured, alone a relativelynarrow line Qi attachment 20 at the lower end ci this triangular end tothe base surface Il.

- This inwardly tapered end Serves .a double funcnon. inthe nrst placeit provides a weakened line of connection between each toothnicl; thebase So that the toothnicls be readily removed. In the second place aseach toothpick is removed it may be bent laterally as viewed in Figures2 and 3 so that one flat tapered surface rests against the upper surfaceI'I of the base. Any further pivotal motion of the toothplck tends tolift the connected end thereof away from the base, the line between thetapered lower end and the adjacent side of the toothpick acting as aThus the line between each side of the tapered end and the adjacent sideof the toothpick may be used as a fulcruni to assist in the separationof the toothpick from the base.

The upper end 2 I' of each toothpick is substantially triangular incross section. At a point 22, substantially midway between the ends ofeach toothpick, the body begins to taper as viewed from the front orrear. This taper continues to the extreme tip end 23 of each toothpiclz.Near the point where the taper of the toothpicks begins, the sides ofthe toothpick body are beveled so that the toothpick is substantiallytriangular in cross section. As viewed from the rear edge, the toothpickis provided with a flat rear surface throughout its length and tapersfrom an intermediate point 22 to the tip end 23. As viewed from thefront end, and as noted in Figure 2 of the drawings, each toothpick isprovided with a center line 2e between two beveled sides 25. The beveledsides or surfaces 25together with the flat rear surface forms thesubstantially triangular shape of the individual toothpicks. f

As viewed from the side, each toothpick is curved slightly from itsfront surface 25 toward its rear surface 21. This gentle curve of thetoothpick continues to a point v29 near the tip end 23. From this pointto the tip end the toothpicks are beveled more sharply as indicated.

The toothpicks A may be made of various types of plastic and arepreferably formed of a-material which is resilient and flexible ratherthan extremely stiff. For example, my toothpicks may be made of varioustypes of acetate plastics, some of which are harder than others. Otherplastics such as rubber base plastics are suitable for my purpose. Theseplastics permit the tapered tip end of the toothpick to flex readily andto compress slightly. As a result the toothpick is soft enough to t theinterdental spaces and at the same time sufficiently hard to prevent thebuilding up of deposit on the teeth.

When attached to the base the toothpicks may be supported in a verticalposition upon the base or may be readily carried in a pocket or purse.When desired for use each toothpick may be separated from the base inthe manner described and discarded after being used for its desiredpurpose. f

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and operation of my toothpicks, and while I haveendeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to Yhaveit understood that obvious changes may be made within the scpe of thefollowing claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.`

I claim:

1.Y A toothpick construction comprising a base, a flat upper surface onsaid base, a series of solid bodied toothpicks integral with said base,each of s id toothpicks including a substantially triangular connectingend the apexes of the triangular ends being parallel, said toothpicksbeing connected to said base along an apex of said triangular connectingportion.

2. A toothpick construction including an clon-- gated base includingsubstantially parallel top and bottom members and a connecting webtherebetween, the top member being substantially flatl and having aseries of solid bodied toothpicks connected thereto along spacedparallel transversely extending areas of connection, said toothpickseach having a handle portion, a tapered upper end portion, and a bluntlytapered bottom portion, said bottom portion extending substantially thefull thickness of said handle portion of the toothpicks and bluntlytapered in width, and terminating in the laterally spaced areas ofconnection with said base.

3. A toothpick construction including an elongated base having asubstantially flat upper surface, a series of solid bodied toothpicksconnected to said flat upper surface to extend substantially normallythereto, each of said toothpicks including a handle portion, anelongated tapered free end portion, and a short bluntly tapered attachedend, said attached end of each toothpick being substantially the fullthickness of the toothpick and tapered in width terminating in an apexforming an elongated area of connection with the base, the areas ofconnection being spaced and parallel and extending transversely oi thebase.

4. A toothpick construction comprising an elongated base, a series Vofspaced solid bodied toothpicks integral with said base, and a wedgeshaped end on each said toothpick the edge of which provides arelatively narrow connecting area between the base of the wedge shapedends of said toothpicks and said base, said connected areas being atright angles to the longitudinal axis of the base and in spaced parallelrelation.

5. A toothpick construction comprising an elongated base, a series ofelongated solid-bodied toothpicks connected to said base to extendnormally thereto, a tapered end on each of said toothpicks, the edges ofsaid tapered ends being connected to said base along parallel relativelynarrow areas of connection, said narrow areas being at right angles tothe longitudinal axis of the base and in spaced parallel relation, saidareas forming the sole contact between the toothpicks and the base.

GLEN E. MILLARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the lile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 812,189 Dorr Feb. 13, 19061,339,975 Pfersch May 11, 1920 1,468,125 Nelsen Sept. 18, 1923 1,856,559Johnson May 3, 1932 2,008,206 Grant July 16, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 10,368 Switzerland May 4, 1895

